The nature of poverty in South Africa

Mgr. Tizina Ramagaga

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Since 1994, South Africa’s has been grappling with absolute poverty, income inequality and youth unemployment. Although the country’s official statistics report that there has been a decrease in levels of extreme poverty as well as in increase in aggregate income levels, there are still those that have continued to live below the poverty line. At the same time, the increase income levels have only increased income inequality within the black population. The purpose of this research is to explain the nature of poverty in South Africa, using the literature review method. Literature on the causes of poverty can be divided into two major categories, structural and behavioural. Structural explanations for poverty argue that policies or institutions are the main drivers of poverty and behavioural argue that the poor are responsible for their own economic and social circumstances. Based on these categorisations, the paper proposes two theories that could be used to explain income inequality in South Africa, Neoliberalism and the Culture of Poverty theory. One the one hand, opponents of the neoliberal economic strategy to poverty alleviation have argued that the macroeconomic policy which, through economic growth, is supposed to create employment opportunities and redistribute resources to the poor, has led to increases in income inequality. On the other hand, the culture of poverty theory attributes poverty to cultural values and beliefs held by the poor. While the middle class continue to progress, the subculture of poverty restrains the poor from upward income and social mobility. Based on the literature, the research finds that because of deliberate structural policies enacted before, during and after apartheid, neoliberalism economics is a better explain the nature of poverty in South Africa.

Keywords

Nature of Poverty, Extreme Poverty, Income inequality, Neoliberal economics Culture of Poverty.

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 5. 1. 2015

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 27. 1. 2015
• Supervisor: prof. Martin Kreidl, Ph.D.
• Reader: Mgr. Benjamin Jeremiah Vail, Ph.D.

Masaryk University

Faculty of Social Studies

Master programme / field:
Sociology / Sociology (Eng.)